Tires?

[smittyams]

I'm glad everyone has opened up on there experiences here. Makes a decision so much easier knowing the problems with standard tires.

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by denali15

They are still using Lionhead... Going through warranty on my tires right now.

What was installed on the unit new? Was it a "C" rated trail express? You are the first person I heard of that had 80 psi rims on installed by FR. They must not be series 6 rims. They would have to be 16" tires not the normal 15" that the 8289WS comes with. Now that surprises me.

[denali15]

We have the 371 REBH. It came with "Constancy LY188" Load Range E tires rated at 3520 pounds each @ 80psi. Our unit's GVWR is 15,500 with 7000 pound axles. It really doesn't leave any extra wiggle room.

They definitely should have come from the factory with 14 ply tires with a higher weight rating. Two have failed in 5 month and about 10,000KM.

I'm going to get a cash settlement for my tire warranty and buy some heavier duty tires.

Edit: The rims that came on our unit are 110psi rims.

[DKay]

How do you know what psi your rims are rated for? We have a 371REBH, researching tired now. Thanks!

[denali15]

Hey,

It will be printed inside your rim. If you have these rims they are 110psi.

Here is a picture showing the difference in size vs my old tire and the new Sailun.



I replaced them all, I just brought 1 tire on each side of the trailer to the shop at a time; she is a heavy beast!

[DKay]

Thanks for the quick response! What made you go with the Sailun tires over the G14's? Also, were you able to get any money back on old tires under warranty? Thanks again!

[denali15]

Originally Posted by DKay

Thanks for the quick response! What made you go with the Sailun tires over the G14's? Also, were you able to get any money back on old tires under warranty? Thanks again!

I read a lot online and heard good things about the Sailun tires. The reason why I didn't go with the good years is the price... They are like $400-$450 Canadian per tire, too expensive in mind for a trailer tire.

They warrantied all 4 of my tires even though 3 were defective... I believe they gave me around $76-$78 US which worked out to $400 Canadian.

Our friends ordered the same trailer as us at the same time and his tires are starting to do the same bulges as ours did. In my mind the factory tires are underrated; if I remember correctly they are rated for 3500pds each. Too close for comfort.

[DKay]

Thanks again. I got a quote of $1058 w road hazard from NTB. Looks like I'm going to go that route and add TPMS as well.

[chop249]

Ugh. Makes me wonder if I don't change mine. I'm at about 2500 miles on them. I got weighed the other day and I wasn't fully loaded..... 14,100 pounds. @3500/tire capacity is 14,000...... And they are only rated for 75mph. The limit here in Texas in a lot of the state is 75 so you're maxed out all the time. Grrrrr..........

[Helmsey]

Originally Posted by chop249

Ugh. Makes me wonder if I don't change mine. I'm at about 2500 miles on them. I got weighed the other day and I wasn't fully loaded..... 14,100 pounds. @3500/tire capacity is 14,000...... And they are only rated for 75mph. The limit here in Texas in a lot of the state is 75 so you're maxed out all the time. Grrrrr..........

What tires do you currently have?

[AquaMan]

Originally Posted by chop249

Ugh. Makes me wonder if I don't change mine. I'm at about 2500 miles on them. I got weighed the other day and I wasn't fully loaded..... 14,100 pounds. @3500/tire capacity is 14,000...... And they are only rated for 75mph. The limit here in Texas in a lot of the state is 75 so you're maxed out all the time. Grrrrr..........

Don't forget to subtract your pin weight from the total weight. You're still a couple thousand pounds under. 75mph is also about as high a rating as you're going to get with a trailer tire. IMO, (and I'm a lead foot) 75mph is faster than I would travel anyway, regardless of speed limit.

[chop249]

Originally Posted by Helmsey

What tires do you currently have?

Westlake Super ST 16"

[chop249]

Originally Posted by AquaMan

Don't forget to subtract your pin weight from the total weight. You're still a couple thousand pounds under. 75mph is also about as high a rating as you're going to get with a trailer tire. IMO, (and I'm a lead foot) 75mph is faster than I would travel anyway, regardless of speed limit.

Good to know. How do I figure the pin weight? And how much below the 14k capacity of the tires is a good buffer?

[Ford Idaho]

Originally Posted by chop249

Good to know. How do I figure the pin weight? And how much below the 14k capacity of the tires is a good buffer?

Best way to get your pin weight is on a scale.

Load it up like you use it and head to the local truck stop that has a scale of one you can se for free.

Axle it on and write it down.

Unhook trailer and weight the TV one axle at a time.

Subtract rear axle weight when unhooked from rear axle weight when hooked up.

That is what weight your unit adds to the rear of the truck.

[Helmsey]

Originally Posted by chop249

Westlake Super ST 16"

Ok, I wasnt sure if I had missed that someplace or not. Thats what mine are (well, 3 of the 4 of them since I still have the spare on).

Hey - If you ever get over to Mark's Auto Supply tell Craig his little brother says hi!

[Helmsey]

Originally Posted by chop249

Good to know. How do I figure the pin weight? And how much below the 14k capacity of the tires is a good buffer?

I think you might be better off matching the tire load capacity to the axle rating. If you have 2 7000 axles you need tires that will support at least 3500lbs each. In 16" tires you will need to look to load range G to get any sort of buffer in capacity, and even then you wont get much.

[AquaMan]

Originally Posted by chop249

Good to know. How do I figure the pin weight? And how much below the 14k capacity of the tires is a good buffer?

If you have at least 3500lb capacity on tires and 7k axles you should be good to 14k plus the pin weight, or somewhere just north of 16k total. As it sits at 14,100, you probably have around 11,800 (figuring 2200 pin) sitting on the tires, rated at 14k total. G rated tires would give you more than your rated axle if you're looking for more of a buffer. E rated will generally fall in the range of 3500-3750lbs depending on manufacturer. The stock E tires on my Sierra were rated 3750 mounted on 6k axles and 14k loaded, 2300 pin.


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[chop249]

Originally Posted by Helmsey

Ok, I wasnt sure if I had missed that someplace or not. Thats what mine are (well, 3 of the 4 of them since I still have the spare on).



Hey - If you ever get over to Mark's Auto Supply tell Craig his little brother says hi!

So are you saying that you had problems with those? Are they one of the aforementioned bombs?

[phillyg]

Unless you upgraded the tires on your order, you are pretty much guaranteed to have the cheapest tires the manufacturer could find at the time to put on your unit. All of them will be from some place in the Far East, and the chances you won't have a blowout will be slim to none, IMHO..

[Helmsey]

Originally Posted by chop249

So are you saying that you had problems with those? Are they one of the aforementioned bombs?

I had one pop on me last October and I have no way to know what caused it. I will say this, I have about 300 miles on the other 3 since the blowout (most of those driving the rest of the way home) and was surprised I didn't lose another one.
This is what it looked like:

Originally Posted by Helmsey

This is whats left of one of my Westlake tires:



I'd have to look on the truck to see how many towing miles but not more than 3500 on these.
I had no indication this was coming, TPMS started screaming out of no where and people honking at me in Atlanta. Fun times.